Templeton Emerging Markets Fund Announces Board Initiatives Intended to Reduce Fund Discount
Management Initiatives: The Templeton Emerging Markets Fund's Board has announced initiatives to reduce the fund's discount to net asset value (NAV), including a management fee reduction effective March 1, 2025, a managed distribution plan with quarterly payouts of $0.22 per share, and an open-market share repurchase program allowing for the purchase of up to 10% of common shares.
Distribution and Repurchase Details: The managed distribution plan aims to provide consistent shareholder returns while potentially narrowing the market price discount to NAV, although success is not guaranteed. The share repurchase program will be executed at management's discretion based on various factors, including market conditions and fund performance.
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- Decline in Active Fund Performance: According to Morningstar, only 38% of actively managed funds outperformed their passive counterparts in 2025 after fees, down from 42% in 2024, indicating challenges for active management amid increasing market competition.
- Strong Emerging Market Fund Performance: Among diversified emerging market funds, 64% surpassed passive peers, a significant increase of 42 percentage points from 22% in 2024, suggesting growing investment opportunities in this sector that may attract more capital inflows.
- Weak Real Estate Fund Performance: In contrast, only 12% of actively managed real estate funds outperformed passive funds, a dramatic decline of 54 percentage points from 66% in 2024, reflecting heightened investment risks in this market that may lead investors to reassess their strategies.
- Impact of Fees on Investment Returns: In 2025, passive ETFs had an average expense ratio of 0.135%, while active ETFs were at 0.42%, highlighting the significance of low fees in long-term investing, particularly for cost-conscious investors who may find passive funds more appealing.
IPO Landscape Changes: The IPO landscape has shifted from a focus on tech companies, particularly fintech, to a broader range of sectors, with notable companies like OpenAI and SpaceX preparing for public listings.
Anticipated IPOs: Companies such as Canva and Anthropic are rumored to be eyeing IPOs, with Canva potentially valued at $42 billion and Anthropic expected to file for an IPO in 2026, aiming to capitalize on its rapid growth.
Discord's Growth: Discord has seen significant growth, especially during the pandemic, expanding its user base from 11 million in 2016 to 656 million active users today, and is reportedly preparing for a $15 billion IPO in 2026.
Fintech Trends: The fintech sector continues to thrive, with companies like Plaid and Klarna leading the way. Plaid, which connects financial accounts to apps, is projected to have over 150 million global consumers using its services by early 2026.
- Significant Acquisition Value: Nuveen's £9.9 billion acquisition of Schroders is set to create a global fund management giant with nearly $2.5 trillion in assets under management, marking a major consolidation trend in the asset management industry.
- Strong Market Reaction: The acquisition has sparked widespread discussion in the financial community, with many industry insiders expressing regret over Schroders' historical significance, reflecting deep concerns about the traditional asset management model.
- Accelerating Industry Consolidation: As profit margins for asset managers continue to contract due to a shift from active to passive management, the industry is witnessing an acceleration in merger activities aimed at achieving economies of scale and enhancing competitiveness.
- Uncertain Future Outlook: While the acquisition brings scale advantages, there is optimism about the rise of small boutique asset managers, which may offer more flexible services in long-term investments, potentially reshaping the industry landscape.

- AUM Milestone: Franklin Templeton's Franklin Lexington PE secondaries strategy has surpassed $3.5 billion in assets under management in less than a year since its launch, highlighting strong demand from global wealth channel clients for institutional-quality private market solutions.
- Global Investor Access: Initially launched to U.S. investors in December 2024, the strategy was extended to international investors in Europe, the Middle East, Latin America, and APAC in March 2025, broadening access to private market investment opportunities worldwide.
- Innovative Investment Structure: The strategy aims to provide simplified access to a diversified portfolio of private equity investments through secondary transactions and co-investments alongside leading sponsors, enhancing client diversification and potential returns.
- Validation of Market Leadership: The partnership with Lexington underscores the strong demand for high-quality private market exposure, validating the momentum building across Franklin Templeton's global private markets platform and laying the groundwork for future business expansion.
- Program Launch: Franklin Resources and Binance have announced an institutional off-exchange collateral program that allows eligible clients to use tokenized money market fund shares issued through Franklin Templeton's Benji Technology Platform as collateral when trading on Binance, addressing a significant pain point for institutional traders.
- Increased Asset Flexibility: This program enables institutional traders to utilize traditional regulated, yield-bearing money market fund assets in digital markets without the need to park those assets on an exchange, thereby enhancing asset liquidity and operational efficiency.
- Market Demand Response: By introducing this innovative mechanism, Franklin Resources not only meets the demand for flexible trading from institutional clients but also has the potential to attract more institutional investors into the digital asset market, further driving the company's growth in this emerging sector.
- Strategic Partnership Deepening: This collaboration with Binance signifies Franklin Resources' strategic positioning in the digital asset space, expected to enhance its competitiveness in the fintech sector and lay the groundwork for future business expansion.
- Collateral Program Launch: Franklin Templeton and Binance have launched a new institutional off-exchange collateral program, allowing eligible clients to use tokenized money market fund shares as collateral when trading on Binance, thereby enhancing security and capital efficiency in digital markets.
- Risk Management Optimization: This program addresses a long-standing pain point for institutional traders by enabling them to utilize traditional regulated, yield-bearing money market fund assets for trading without parking those assets on an exchange, thus reducing counterparty risk and increasing trading flexibility.
- Deepening Partnership: Since their partnership began in 2025, Franklin Templeton and Binance have been deepening their collaboration aimed at integrating traditional financial instruments with blockchain technology, opening up new investment opportunities for clients.
- Market Demand Response: The launch of this program meets the increasing institutional demand for stable, yield-bearing collateral that can settle 24/7, enhancing the trading experience for investors on the world’s largest regulated digital asset exchange.










